Surgical needle and method of manufacturing a surgical needle

ABSTRACT

In order to develop a surgical needle comprising an elongate needle body and a needle point formed on a distal end of the needle body, wherein the needle body is manufactured in particular from an elongate cylindrical blank, in a way that improves the handling ability of the surgical needle, it is proposed that the needle body has at least one textured-profile lateral face, which comprises at least one textured-profile lateral-face region provided with a textured profile, wherein the textured profile comprises a plurality of indentations and wherein the at least one textured-profile lateral-face region extends as far as the needle point. An improved method of manufacturing a surgical needle is also provided.

The present application is a divisional of commonly-owned, co-pendingU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/900,396 filed on Sep. 10, 2007,which claims priority from German patent application number 10 2006044.788.3 of Sep. 13, 2006 and German utility model application number20 2006 014 897.3 of Sep. 18, 2006, each of which are incorporatedherewith by reference and in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a surgical needle comprising anelongate needle body and a needle point formed on a distal end of theneedle body, wherein the needle body is manufactured in particular froman elongate cylindrical blank.

The present invention further relates to a method of manufacturing asurgical needle comprising an elongate needle body and a needle pointformed on a distal end of the needle body, wherein the needle body ismanufactured in particular from an elongate cylindrical blank.

Surgical needles of the initially described type are used for example inthe form of micro-needles during heart surgery. It is known tomanufacture micro-needles of this type from an elongate cylindricalblank, wherein the blank is shaped by being pressed from four directionsinto an elongate square needle body. Such a micro-needle has asubstantially square cross section and rounded longitudinal edges aswell as approximately a diameter of ca. 0.2 mm. Because of theirdimensions the stability of such micro-needles is limited. Furthermore,the sliding behaviour of the needle as it pierces body and tissue islimited.

Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a surgical needle, inparticular a micro-needle, and a method of manufacturing a surgicalneedle having an improved handling ability of the surgical needle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a surgical needle of the initially described type, it is suggestedthat the needle body has at least one textured-profile lateral face,which comprises at least one textured-profile lateral-face regionprovided with a textured profile, wherein the textured profile comprisesa plurality of indentations and wherein the at least onetextured-profile lateral-face region extends as far as the needle point.

The needle proposed according to the invention, in particular in theform of a micro-needle, has the advantage that by forming thetextured-profile lateral-face region the stability of the needle ismarkedly increased. This applies, on the one hand, to a bending strengthof the needle and, on the other hand, to the sliding behaviour of theneedle as it pierces tissue. Compared to known surgical needles, thesliding behaviour is improved in particular also because thetextured-profile lateral-face region extends as far as the needle point,i.e. right up to the distal end of the needle point. Thus, as soon asthe needle point penetrates into tissue a markedly improved slidingbehaviour is achieved. What is more, the surgical needle according tothe invention has a modified point design because the textured-profilelateral-face region extends right up to the end of the point, thismoreover lending the needle a unique appearance. A further result of theat least one textured-profile lateral face is an improved seat in aneedle holder, which is conventionally used to hold the surgical needleduring surgery. Particularly in the case of surgical micro-needles, thetextured profile is preferably designed in the form of a micro-profile,namely with dimensions of the indentations that are preferably smalleror even markedly smaller than a diameter of the needle body. Theindentations may in particular be arranged geometrically and thetextured profile may have a high degree of symmetry, for example athree-, four-, five- or six-fold symmetry.

It is advantageous if the at least one textured-profile lateral-faceregion forms at least half of the at least one textured-profile lateralface. Said region preferably extends over the entire textured-profilelateral face. The larger the textured-profile lateral-face region, thebetter the sliding behaviour of the needle body as it penetrates intotissue.

The sliding behaviour may be further improved if the needle body has twotextured-profile lateral faces and if the two textured-profile lateralfaces face in opposite directions away from one another. Such a needlebody is moreover easy to manufacture, for example by pressing betweentwo machine tools in the form of shaping dies that are oriented towardsone another.

The needle body in cross section advantageously has a rectangular orsquare or substantially rectangular or square shape. Such a shape iseasy to manufacture, for example by pressing from four sides.

It is advantageous if the needle body has four flat or substantiallyflat lateral faces and if at least one of the lateral faces is atextured-profile lateral face. That means that one, two, three or fourtextured-profile lateral faces may be provided in this case. Flatlateral faces may in particular be manufactured in a simple manner bypressing.

It would in principle be conceivable for all of the lateral faces of theneedle body to be designed in the form of textured-profile lateralfaces. It is however advantageous if the needle body has at least onenon-profiled lateral face adjoining the at least one textured-profilelateral face. Such a non-profiled lateral face is much easier tomanufacture than a textured-profile lateral face.

Whilst it would in principle be conceivable for the non-profiled lateralfaces to be of a flat design, it is advantageous if the at least onenon-profiled lateral face has a convex curvature in a direction awayfrom the needle body. The formation of such a non-profiled lateral face,depending on the blank used, requires no further step in the method ofmanufacturing the needle. Preferably, two non-profiled or substantiallynon-profiled lateral faces are provided. Thus, manufacture of the needlemay be markedly simplified.

The construction of the needle may be further simplified if the twonon-profiled or substantially non-profiled lateral faces face inopposite directions away from one another.

Both the construction and the manufacture of the needle becomeparticularly simple if the needle body has two textured-profile lateralfaces and if two non-profiled or substantially non-profiled lateralfaces are provided, which connect the textured-profile lateral faces toone another.

Whilst it would in principle be conceivable for the surgical needles tobe of a rectilinear, i.e. non-curved design, it is advantageous if theneedle body is bent. This improves in particular the handling abilityduring microsurgery.

It would in principle be conceivable to provide the textured-profilelateral face with a raised textured profile. According to a preferredembodiment of the invention, it may however be provided that the atleast one textured-profile lateral surface defines an outer surface andthat the plurality of indentations extend from the outer surface intothe needle body. This means that the textured profile may be designed inthe form of an embossed profile. Such a textured profile may bemanufactured for example by means of dies that have raised texturedprofiles.

In order to increase the stability of the needle point, it isadvantageous if a depth of the indentations relative to the outersurface of the at least one textured-profile lateral face decreases froma proximal end of the at least one textured-profile lateral-face regionin the direction of the needle point. Thus, despite an improved slidingbehaviour of both the needle point and the entire needle, the stabilityof the needle, in particular the bending strength thereof, may beincreased despite formation of the textured profile.

In an advantageous manner, the plurality of indentations are entirely orpartially of a pyramidal design. In particular, the pyramidalindentations may be designed in such a way as to produce a texturedprofile that corresponds, or is at least similar to an external textureof a golf ball.

Manufacture of the needle is simplified if the plurality of indentationsare entirely or partially designed in the shape of square pyramids. Itwould of course also be conceivable to design hollow sphericalindentations, in particular in the form of hollow hemispheres. It mayfurther be provided that edges in the transition region of theindentations to the outer surface of the textured-profile lateral faceare rounded off.

The surgical needle is particularly easy to manufacture if the pluralityof indentations are impressed.

It is advantageous if the needle body is manufactured by injectionmoulding. This allows the needle to be manufactured from a wide range ofmaterials. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, it maybe provided that the needle body is manufactured by metal injectionmoulding (MIM), powder injection moulding (PIM) or by plastic injectionmoulding. By means of the described types of manufacture, the needlebody may be manufactured without having to be pressed. The needle bodymay therefore in particular be produced in one manufacturing operation.In particular, it is not absolutely necessary to manufacture the needlefrom an elongate cylindrical blank, with the result that this feature isan optional feature. Preferably, the needle is manufactured from ametal, a ceramic material or from plastics material. It would also beconceivable to use combinations of the described materials tomanufacture the needle.

Conventional needle points are manufactured preferably by mechanicalmethods, for example by grinding the distal end of the needle body intoa point. In order however to retain the textured profile right up to thedistal end of the point to be formed, it is advantageous if the needlepoint is manufactured by electrochemical polishing. Electrochemicalpolishing involves a removal of material, but material is also removedfrom inside the indentations so that these are likewise partiallyabraded or altered in shape. It is therefore possible for the texturedprofile formed in the needle body to be retained right up to the distalend of the point. Depending on the design of the point, the depth of theindividual indentations relative to the outer surface may decrease inthe direction of the distal end of the point.

During the use of surgical needles, there is always a thread disposed atthe proximal end of the needle. In principle, it is conceivable for thethread to be held by clamping in a thread receiver or to be connected byadhesion to the proximal end. In order to allow any desired thread to beselected, it is advantageous if the needle at a proximal end has atleast one eye. A thread may be held by clamping in a notch or blindhole. For individual selection of a thread, an eye, into which theselected thread may be threaded at any time, is particularly suitable.Eyes and blind holes are suitable preferably for macro-needles. It ishowever also possible to provide eyes in micro-needles, wherein in thecase of micro-needles it is also advantageous to provide blind holes ornotches for receiving a thread.

The eye is preferably designed in the form of a through opening in theneedle body that is circular, oval or elongate-hole-like in crosssection. It is therefore easy to thread threads of different crosssections through the eye.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, it may further beprovided that the needle point and/or the entire needle body areentirely or partially coated with a silicone layer. By means of asilicone coating the sliding behaviour of the needle may be furtherimproved. The indentations of the textured profile moreover have theadvantage that they may serve, so to speak, as “silicone stores” so thatthe sliding behaviour does not deteriorate even after repeated piercingof tissue.

Further, in a method of the initially described type, it is suggestedthat the needle body is provided with at least one textured-profilelateral face, that the at least one textured-profile lateral face forforming at least one textured-profile lateral-face region is providedwith a textured profile, which comprises a plurality of indentations, insuch a way that the at least one textured-profile lateral-face regionextends as far as the needle point.

The method proposed according to the invention makes it possible tomanufacture a needle, in particular a surgical micro-needle, whichcompared to conventional needles exhibits markedly improved slidingbehaviour and moreover has greater stability, in particular a greaterbending strength.

Furthermore, the indentations, especially if they are completelyseparate from one another, are suitable as reservoirs for sliding agentor lubricant, for example in the form of silicone, if the entire needlebody is coated with a silicone layer. It is therefore possible to retainthe sliding behaviour of the needle as a whole even after it has beenused to pierce through tissue several times in succession.

The at least one textured-profile lateral-face region is preferablydesigned in such a way that it forms at least half of the at least onetextured-profile lateral face. The textured-profile lateral-face regionmay however alternatively be designed in such a way that it forms theentire textured-profile lateral face.

The larger the textured-profile lateral-face region is, the better thesliding behaviour and the stability of the needle.

The needle may be manufactured easily, for example by pressing, if theneedle body is provided with two textured-profile lateral faces suchthat the two textured-profile lateral faces face in opposite directionsaway from one another. Such a needle moreover also has the advantagethat, as it penetrates into tissue, it may divide the tissueparticularly easily by means of the two textured lateral faces, alongwhich the tissue slides.

It becomes particularly easy to manufacture the needle if the needlebody is designed in such a way that in cross section it has arectangular or square or substantially rectangular or square shape.

Shaping tools for manufacturing the needle are particularly easilyconfigured and cost-effective if the needle body is designed in such away that it has four flat or substantially flat lateral faces and if atleast one of the lateral faces is a textured-profile lateral face.

Manufacture of the needle is further simplified if the needle body isdesigned in such a way that it has at least one non-profiled lateralface adjoining the at least one textured-profile lateral face.

It is advantageous if the at least one non-profiled lateral face isdesigned with a convex curvature in a direction away from the needlebody. This makes it possible to use for manufacture of the needle bodyin particular an elongate cylindrical blank, the remaining lateral facesof which, after provision of the at least one textured-profile lateralface with the textured profile, no longer have to be machined.

Preferably, two non-profiled or substantially non-profiled lateral facesare formed, which may be manufactured for example in a single methodstep of the needle body by pressing between two dies.

The optional method step just described is particularly simplified ifthe two non-profiled or substantially non-profiled lateral faces aredesigned facing in opposite directions away from one another. Thestability of the needle increases and manufacture is simplified if theneedle body is designed in such a way that it has two textured-profilelateral faces and that two non-profiled or substantially non-profiledlateral faces are formed, which connect the textured-profile lateralfaces to one another. This allows in particular an, in cross section,square or rectangular needle profile to be formed in a simple manner,for example by means of two forming press steps.

The needle body after the formation of the at least one textured-profilelateral-face region is preferably bent. It may in this case be bent inparticular in such a way that the textured-profile lateral face afterthe bending step still lies in one plane or alternatively in such a waythat the textured-profile lateral face is curved out of the plane itoriginally defined. A curvature of the needle has in particular theadvantage of also allowing vessels to be easily stitched to one another.

According to a preferred variant of the method according to theinvention, it may be provided that the at least one textured-profilelateral face defines an outer surface and that the plurality ofindentations are formed from the outer surface into the needle body. Itis therefore possible in particular for a textured profile to be formedby impressing by means of a die having a raised textured profile.

In order not to reduce the stability of the needle, it is advantageousif a depth of the indentations relative to the outer surface of the atleast one textured-profile lateral face is designed to decrease from aproximal end of the at least one textured-profile lateral-face region inthe direction of the needle point. Despite the indentations in theregion of the distal end of the needle point being no longer as deep asindentations in the region of the non-tapered needle body, the slidingbehaviour of the needle is still markedly improved by the profiling ofthe needle point itself. In particular, such a profiled needle point mayeasily be manufactured by electrochemical polishing.

The textured profile is particularly easy to produce if the plurality ofindentations are entirely or partially of a pyramidal design. Forexample, such a textured profile may be produced by means of a pressuredie that has a profile of raised pyramids. In particular, this allowsthe needle body to be provided with a textured profile that has theshape of a textured profile known from golf balls.

It would in principle be conceivable to form the needle by injectionmoulding. It is however particularly advantageous if the plurality ofindentations are impressed. This allows a marked improvement of abending strength of the needle, namely because of the strain hardeningof the needle body material that is brought about by the pressingoperation.

As already mentioned, it may also be advantageous if the needle body ismanufactured by injection moulding. This in particular allows the needleto be manufactured in a single operation. In particular, for thispurpose there is no need to provide a blank. This means that no elongatecylindrical blank is required for manufacture of the needle. Rather, thematerial used to manufacture the needle and/or needle body mayalternatively be injected into a mould that defines the shape of thefinished needle. The feature, that the needle body is manufactured froman elongate cylindrical blank, is therefore an optional feature and notcentral to the invention.

In a preferred variant of the method according to the invention, it maybe provided that the needle body is manufactured by metal injectionmoulding (MIM), powder injection moulding (PIM) or by plastic injectionmoulding. For these methods of manufacture no elongate cylindrical blankis required for forming the needle.

Depending on the intended application and desired stability, it isadvantageous if the needle is manufactured from a metal, from plasticsmaterial or in the form of a ceramic by sintering.

It would in principle admittedly be conceivable to form the needle pointby grinding the needle body. However, the needle point is preferablymanufactured by electrochemical polishing. In this way, particularly ifthe basic body has been provided with a textured profile, the texturedprofile may be retained right up to the distal end of the needle pointbecause with electrochemical polishing there is a removal of materialnot just from an outer surface but also from surfaces of the formedindentations. Although a result of this is that a depth of theindentations relative to an outer surface decreases in the direction ofthe distal end of the needle point with an increasing polishing period,a textured profile is nevertheless retained.

In principle, it is possible to fix a thread by clamping or adhesiondirectly to a proximal end of the needle body. The needle is howeverpreferably provided at a proximal end with at least one eye, blind holeor notch. An eye in particular allows the needle to be equipped with theoptimum suture material for the desired application. Blind holes andnotches for fixing the thread have in particular the advantage that theymay be used even in the case of very small needles, in particularmicro-needles, to fasten a thread securely to the needle.

Depending on the suture material to be used, it may be advantageous ifthe eye is designed in the form of a through opening in the needle bodythat is circular, oval or elongate-hole-like in cross section.

The needle point and/or the entire needle body are preferably entirelyor partially coated with a silicone layer. The silicone layer allows theneedle to slide even better through tissue.

The following description of a preferred embodiment of the inventionserves in connection with the drawings to provide a more detailedexplanation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1: a perspective view of an elongate cylindrical blank for forminga needle body;

FIG. 2: a perspective representation of the blank of FIG. 1 after theimpressing of two textured-profile lateral-face regions;

FIG. 3: the blank provided with a textured profile of FIG. 2 afterbending of the basic body;

FIG. 4: a perspective view of the bent needle body of FIG. 3 after theforming of two non-profiled lateral faces;

FIG. 5: a diagrammatic representation of the needle body of FIG. 4during electrochemical polishing of the needle point;

FIG. 6: a diagrammatic representation of the electrochemically polishedneedle point; and

FIG. 7: a sectional view along line 7-7 through the polished needle bodycompared to a sectional view through the needle body prior toelectrochemical polishing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

There now follows a description of a preferred embodiment of a surgicalneedle according to the invention and of a variant of a method accordingto the invention of manufacturing a surgical needle.

In the case of the embodiment of a surgical needle 54 that is describedin detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 and illustrated at leastpartially in FIGS. 6 and 7, it relates to a microsurgical needle 54 anda method of manufacturing a surgical needle 54. The starting point ofthe method is a blank 10 of an elongate cylindrical material, forexample a metal wire, which has a circular cross section 12.Approximately one third of the length of the blank 10 serve as auxiliaryshank 14, the remaining part of the blank 14 forming a basic body 16 forthe surgical needle 54. Manufacture of the surgical needle is howeveralso possible without an auxiliary shank. The blank 10 for manufacturingsurgical micro- and macro-needles preferably has a diameter in a rangeof 0.05 mm to 1.5 mm, preferably in a range of 0.15 mm to 0.3 mm.

In a first step of manufacture of the surgical needle 54, two machinetools in the form of dies 18, which have a profiled face 20 comprising aplurality of raised square pyramids 22, are used to form twotextured-profile lateral-face regions 24 on the blank, namely in thatthe mutually opposite profiled faces 20 of the two dies 18 are pressedagainst the portion of the blank 10 that forms the basic body 16 of theneedle 54 until, as a result of material compression, the pyramids 22have formed pyramid-like indentations 26 in the basic body 16. Thepyramids 22 are separated by separating webs 28 that define a plane, asare the indentations 26 by separating webs 30. The separating webs 30define an outer surface or at least part of an outer surface of atextured-profile lateral face 32 of the basic body 16. Longitudinal axesof the separating webs 30 are oriented either parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the blank 10 or inclined relative to thelongitudinal axis. In the embodiment represented in the figures,longitudinal axes of the separating webs are inclined by approximately45° relative to the longitudinal axis of the blank.

By the use of two dies 18, there are formed on the basic body 16 twotextured-profile lateral faces 32 facing in opposite directions awayfrom one another.

The projections, which form the profiled face 20 and may be designed forexample in the form of the described raised square pyramids 22, arepreferably arranged geometrically, for example in a geometrical patternwith a multiple symmetry. In the embodiment illustrated in the Figures,the profiled face 20 has a four-fold symmetry.

Also conceivable, however, would be three- or six-fold symmetries withcorrespondingly shaped projections. By means of the described pressingoperation the textured-profile lateral-face regions 24 are also given acorresponding symmetrical appearance.

For the formation of surgical needles, both of micro-needles and ofmacro-needles, use is preferably made of dies 18, the pyramids 20 ofwhich have lateral edges with dimensions in a range of 0.02 mm to 1 mm,in particular also in a range of 0.07 mm to 0.1 mm, preferably 0.085 mm.The separating webs 28 and 30 between the pyramids 22 and theindentations 26 have a width in a range of 0.009 mm to 1 mm, inparticular also in a range of 0.025 mm to 0.04 mm, preferably a width of0.03 mm.

The textured-profile lateral-face region 24 formed by the dies 18 doesnot extend over the entire length of the basic body 16 but insteadterminates at a slight distance from a distal end 34 of the basic body16 as well as, at the proximal end, from a boundary region 36 betweenthe basic body 16 and the auxiliary shank 14, which are integrallyconnected to one another and on completion of all of the machining stepsmay be separated from one another by cutting in the boundary region.

A height of the pyramids 22 relative to the plane defined by theseparating webs 28 is in a range of 0.04 mm to 0.1 mm. This leadsaccordingly to a depth of the impressed indentations 26 relative to anouter surface defined by the separating webs 30 that is likewise in arange of 0.04 mm to 0.1 mm.

As a result of forming the textured-profile lateral-face regions 24 thebasic body 16 has two textured-profile lateral faces 32 connected to oneanother by two non-profiled lateral faces 38, which extend inlongitudinal direction of the basic body 16 and have a convex curvaturein a direction away from the basic body 16. By virtue of the dies 18each having a profiled face 20, the textured-profile lateral-faceregions 24 are flat and/or substantially flat.

An optional step of the method of manufacturing the surgical needle isto bend the basic body 16. For this, there are several options. First,the basic body may be bent in such a way that a non-profiled region ofthe basic body 16 adjoining the boundary region 36 remains unbent, thebasic body 16 being curved only in the region of the formedtextured-profile lateral-face regions 24. A radius of curvature of thebasic body may lie in a range of 0.5 mm to 50 mm. The distal end 34 ofthe basic body 16 likewise remains unbent and therefore forms arectilinear cylindrical portion. The bending of the basic body 16 may beprovided in such a way that after bending of the basic body 16 theseparating webs 30 of the textured-profile lateral-face regions 24 stilldefine two mutually parallel planes. Such a form of bending isrepresented for example in FIGS. 3 and 4. It would however also beconceivable for the non-profiled lateral faces 38, which because oftheir curvature touch two mutually parallel, not illustrated tangentialplanes, after bending of the basic body 16 still to define and/or touchthe same two tangential planes. This possible way of bending the basicbody 16 is not illustrated in the Figures.

After the optional step of bending the basic body 16, the lateral faces38 may optionally be profiled likewise by pressing by means of twonon-illustrated dies. For example, dies with flat die faces may be usedso that the lateral faces 38, which initially had a concave curvature ina direction away from the basic body 16, after the pressing operationeach define flat planes, which for example is easily possible withnon-curved basic bodies 16 as well as with curved basic bodies, in whichthe lateral faces 38 after bending still touch the same two mutuallyparallel planes. In these cases, dies with flat stamping faces may beused.

If however, as described above and illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, thebasic body 16 is bent in such a way that the planes formed by theseparating webs 30 remain the same after bending, then for profilingand/or flattening of the lateral faces 38 of the basic body 16 two dieswith curved stamping faces are used, which define, on the one hand, aninner radius of the bent basic body 16 and, on the other hand, an outerradius of the bent basic body 16.

The blank 10, which is provided with textured-profile lateral faces 24and is optionally curved and optionally provided with profiled lateralfaces 38, in the form represented in FIGS. 2 to 4 still does not have aneedle point. This could admittedly be formed by machining, for exampleby grinding. However, this would lead to the indentations 26 beingground down until there was no longer any profile in the region of theneedle point. For this reason, a needle point 50 is formed in a furtherprocessing step by electrochemical polishing. For this purpose, theauxiliary shank 14 is connected to a positive electrode, which isconnected by a connection line 42 to a not-illustrated direct-voltagepower supply unit. A cup-shaped container 44 filled with a suitableelectrolyte 46 forms an electrolyte bath. For the electrochemicalpolishing operation, a negative electrode 48 that is connected forexample to a negative pole of the non-illustrated power supply unit isdipped into the electrolyte 46. In order to form the needle point 50,the distal end 34 of the basic body 16 is then dipped into theelectrolyte 46 and a current flow ensues. The dipping may occursuccessively, i.e. the basic body 16 is dipped slowly over a specificperiod of time into the electrolyte 46, namely to an extentcorresponding to the intended length of the actual needle point 50. Itwould however also be conceivable to immerse the distal end 34 of thebasic body 16 immediately up to the desired finished length of theneedle point 50 into the electrolyte 46.

A particularly good point shape may be achieved if it ensured that thedistal end 34 prior to the electrochemical polishing operation has around cross section. The rounder the cross section at the distal end 34,the better the quality, design and stability of the needle point 50.

As a result of the electrochemical polishing, material is removed fromthe basic body 16, namely in the region where the basic body 16 dipsinto the electrolyte 46. Unlike with mechanical polishing, withelectrochemical polishing material is also removed from theindentations. As a result, in the region of the needle point 50 thenformed, the indentations 26 are likewise partially removed. For thisreason, the needle point 50 also remains profiled up to its distal end52, despite a depth of the indentations 26 relative to another surfacedefined by the separating webs 30′ that separate the indentations 26′ ofan altered shape, is decreasing slightly in the direction of the end 52.

As a result of the electrochemical polishing operation, the originallyembossed shapes of the indentations 26 moreover blend slightly together,thereby producing at the end a textured profile that is less clearlydefined or might even be described as a rounded-out profile of theneedle point 50.

Owing to the removal of material in the region of the needle point 50,the separating webs 30 are also modified, this being indicated by way ofexample in FIG. 7. The indentations 26′ remaining after theelectrochemical polishing operation and the remaining separating webs30′ no longer correspond to the original indentations 26 and theoriginal separating webs 30, as is apparent from the comparison of thefinished needle point 50, which is shown in section, with the basic body16 provided with textured-profile lateral-face regions 24.

The indentations 26 may also have a shape corresponding to the profilingfound on golf balls, i.e. the lateral faces of the indentations 26 arecurved slightly away from the basic body 16. This may be achieved forexample by means of pyramids of the dies 18 that have concave lateralfaces. In the plan view of such embossed indentations, they have adesign in the shape of a four-pointed star that is modeled on thetextured surface of a golf ball.

In a fourth but optional processing step, the needle point 50 oralternatively the entire body of the needle 54 may be siliconized, i.e.coated with a layer of silicone. As a result of forming mutuallyseparate indentations 26, these may serve as silicone reservoirs, sothat with needles manufactured in accordance with the invention tissuemay be pierced several times in succession without any deterioration ofthe sliding behaviour of the needle body, which is improved as a resultof the silicone coating.

By providing the textured profile on at least one textured-profilelateral face of the needle body the sliding behaviour of needlesaccording to the invention is improved significantly compared toconventional needles. What is more, the bending strength is markedlyimproved compared to conventional needles. These marked improvementscompared to the needles of prior art have the advantage that needlesformed in accordance with the invention may be used to pierce tissuewith less expenditure of force and the risk of the needles breakingduring surgery is moreover reduced. The improvement of the bendingstrength of the needle is achieved in that the material, from which theblank 10 is manufactured, is strain-hardened as a result of impressingof the textured-profile lateral-face regions 24.

As already explained above, it is not absolutely necessary to form theneedle according to the invention from an elongate cylindrical blank,for example from a straight, cylindrical wire nail. Rather, it is alsoconceivable to manufacture the needle as a whole by injection moulding,for example by metal injection moulding (MIM), powder injection moulding(PIM) or by plastic injection moulding. It would also be possible tomanufacture the needle from a ceramic material by introducing thestarting material into a mould and then sintering. It would optionallyalso be possible to manufacture a blank, as described above, by thevarious injection moulding techniques or by sintering and onlysubsequently form the point by electrochemical polishing of the needlepoint, in the manner described above in connection with the embodimentillustrated in the Figures.

What is claimed is:
 1. Method of manufacturing a surgical needle,comprising: manufacturing an elongate needle body from an elongatecylindrical blank, providing the needle body with at least onetextured-profile lateral face, forming at least one textured-profilelateral face region of the at least one textured-profile lateral-face byembossing a textured profile on at least a portion of the at least onetextured profile lateral face, the embossed textured profile comprisinga plurality of well-defined, reproducible indentations, and forming aneedle point at a distal end of the needle body, the at least onetextured-profile lateral-face region extending as far as the needlepoint, wherein: the embossing of the textured profile occurs during astamping process performed on the needle body; and the needle point isformed by electrochemical polishing of the distal end of the stampedneedle body.
 2. Method according to claim 1, wherein the at least onetextured-profile lateral-face region is designed in such a way that itforms at least half of the at least one textured-profile lateral face.3. Method according to claim 1, wherein the needle body is provided withtwo textured-profile lateral faces such that the two textured-profilelateral faces face in opposite directions away from one another. 4.Method according to claim 1, wherein the needle body is designed in sucha way that in cross section it has a rectangular or square orsubstantially rectangular or square shape.
 5. Method according to claim1, wherein the needle body is designed in such a way that it has fourflat or substantially flat lateral faces and that at least one of thelateral faces is a textured-profile lateral face.
 6. Method according toclaim 1, wherein the needle body is designed in such a way that it hasat least one non-profiled lateral face adjoining the at least onetextured-profile lateral face.
 7. Method according to claim 6, whereinthe at least one non-profiled lateral face is designed with a convexcurvature in a direction away from the needle body.
 8. Method accordingto claim 6, wherein two non-profiled or substantially non-profiledlateral faces are formed.
 9. Method according to claim 8, wherein thetwo non-profiled or substantially non-profiled lateral faces aredesigned facing in opposite directions away from one another.
 10. Methodaccording to claim 6, wherein the needle body is designed in such a waythat it has two textured-profile lateral faces and two non-profiled orsubstantially non-profiled lateral faces, which connect thetextured-profile lateral faces to one another.
 11. Method according toclaim 1, wherein the needle body after the formation of the at least onetextured-profile lateral-face region is bent.
 12. Method according toclaim 1, wherein the at least one textured-profile lateral face definesan outer surface and that the plurality of indentations are formed fromthe outer surface into the needle body.
 13. Method according to claim12, wherein a depth of the indentations relative to the outer surface ofthe at least one textured-profile lateral face is designed to decreasefrom a proximal end of the at least one textured-profile lateral-faceregion in the direction of the needle point.
 14. Method according toclaim 1, wherein the plurality of indentations are entirely or partiallyof a pyramidal design.
 15. Method according to claim 14, wherein theplurality of indentations are designed entirely or partially in the formof square pyramids.
 16. Method according to claim 1, wherein theelongate cylindrical blank is manufactured by injection moulding. 17.Method according to claim 16, wherein the elongate cylindrical blank ismanufactured by metal injection moulding (MIM), powder injectionmoulding (PIM) or by plastic injection moulding.
 18. Method according toclaim 1, wherein the needle is manufactured from a metal, from plasticsmaterial or in the form of a ceramic product by sintering.
 19. Methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the needle at a proximal end is providedwith at least one eye, blind hole or notch.
 20. Method according toclaim 19, wherein the eye is designed in the form of a through openingin the needle body that is circular, oval or elongate-hole-like in crosssection.
 21. Method according to claim 1, wherein the needle pointand/or the entire needle body is entirely or partially coated with asilicone layer.